


an affair in the dark

by theia_talks



Category: Naruto
Genre: Anbu Haruno Sakura, Anbu Hatake Kakashi, Anbu Uchiha Itachi, Angst, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Strong Haruno Sakura, Time Travel, Trauma, Violence, lowkey choking, not in a sexy way but I want to murder you way but it turns sexy, pls have better grieving habits, to sensei to enemies to acquaintances to mutual pining to to teammates to lovers?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:55:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29512137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theia_talks/pseuds/theia_talks
Summary: Sakura had fixed everything. She had killed the Akatsuki, brought Itachi and Obito back to Konoha, and saved the whole entire world. Everything was done. It was over.Or she thought.Now Sakura has to deal with living in the peacetime Konoha when every fibre of her was still at war, hands were dirty with blood, and humanity was long lost.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura/Hatake Kakashi
Comments: 43
Kudos: 200





	1. You can take a girl out of Konoha, but you can't take the Konoha out of the girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by the lovely and amazing asterknightengale8. Thank you Aster for the hard work and reading through this mess.

“Your words are quite hard to believe, Hanari-san.” 

Sakura- Hanari now- merely shrugged. “No offence, but I don’t give a shit.” 

“I’m not saying that I don’t believe in you. If your explanation of the situation is correct, you saved Konoha. I should be thanking you.” 

_I saved the whole damn world, old man._ “Don’t worry about it.” 

The Third Hokage exhaled a long puff from his pipe. “Just out of curiosity, you have yet to explain why you did all this. What you did seems like a great feat.” 

There was no way in all hells that she would be able to lay out her true intentions. “I don’t know, I just did. Saved your asses though.” 

The Hokage laughed. Years of conditioning and almost brainwashed loyalty to the Hokage reared its head and Sakura felt happy. Sakura protected the village and they appreciated it. The warm feeling crept up without a warning and Sakura curled her fists to regain herself. 

_Stupid, stupid._ She wasn’t a ninja of Konoha now- she wasn’t a ninja of anywhere. No need to feel happy when everyone she wanted to protect was dead. The feeling of village and hierarchy was overwhelmingly familiar and a blanket of security to her. But this wasn’t _hers,_ and it would never be hers again. 

After all, she wasn’t Haruno Sakura of Konoha anymore. She was just Hanari with pink hair. 

Sakura knew she should be turning around to leave, she finished her mission- _wait missions are sanctioned by the village and she doesn’t have a village_ \- she finished her _goal,_ and now what was left was just her and her alone. 

Except she lingered. Even after everything, Konoha was her home and she loved it with all her heart. Just standing in Hokage Tower gave her a sense of nostalgia and emotions of joy that she hadn’t felt for so long. 

_Tsunade-shisho sitting on that desk, the faint smell of sake and paperwork. Shizune smiling at her and encouraging her with her seals._

The Third Hokage, despite his facade of friendliness, was a ninja and the moment of weakness that Sakura gave was already too much. “What do you plan to do now? You are a skilled shinobi. Are you planning to join a hidden village?” 

Sakura was trapped, drowning under the words. _What do you plan to do now?_ Sakura didn’t even think that far, only thought of the moment where her fingers were tearing through the throat of the person who brought so much misery upon her. 

Now that she had accomplished it, she was lost. What was she going to do now? Work at a hospital as she did before? Who would accept her when she had no credentials? Back then, she was an apprentice of _Tsunade,_ and that was enough to get her hired and scouted. 

But now, she was just Hanari. 

“I don’t know.” 

Sakura knew what she _wanted_ to do. She wanted to give Naruto and Sasuke a big hug, flaunting her skills and asking, _did you see? I did it, guys!_ She wanted to go to her Shisho and tell her everything that had happened. She wanted to have dinner with her mom and dad, making oddly shaped dumplings because Sakura could never make them as her mom did. 

But that was what _Sakura_ wanted to do, and Sakura didn’t exist anymore. Here stood Hanari. 

Hanari was a mysterious ninja who appeared out of nowhere, wreaked havoc through the shinobi world and brought Uchiha Madara to his knees. She was a person responsible for returning one presumed dead Uchiha, one traitor Uchiha and a wayward Sannin. But outside that, Hanari was no one.

“When you first brought Orochimaru back to us, I thought you were a bounty hunter. But after seeing that you had given us back Obito and Itachi, I can’t help to think that perhaps you are looking for the betterment of Konoha.”

The pleasant smile on Hokage's face was unassuming but Sakura felt like her guts were being skewered. Her life was always towards the betterment of Konoha until her dying one. It was her home, but it was so much more than that. And it would always be under her dying day. She loved this place, from the big orange gates to the faces carved in the stones. 

When Sakura struggled to reply, Sarutobi spoke up. “After all the service you had done for Konoha, I would be remiss not to offer you to join us.” 

She had to reject, she _had_ to say no. Sakura couldn’t imagine that she would be able to walk the steps of Konoha with the familiar faces without having a complete mental breakdown. Oh god, she would see her _past self._ She needed to get far far away so she would not interfere with whatever needed to happen. 

“I can’t.” Sakura managed to choke out. For the first time in forever, Sakura felt herself _break._ This was the power of Hokage, not the intelligence or strength but a way to categorically make people fall apart at a single glance. 

Sakura couldn’t _fucking breathe_ at the thought of being a Konoha ninja again. To be Leaf in the three-man squad who watches each other’s back. Konoha’s trees and grasses that brought so much safety in hiding. The sandals and the flak jacket, the security of having a Konoha headband on her head. She had taken it for granted last time, but this time she wanted it more than anything. 

“You know, I have been the Hokage for quite a while, Hanari-san. In my life, I’ve seen many people and ninja.” The Hokage smiled at her. “I have welcomed many ninjas into Konoha, yet this is the first time I had not a single doubt when offering a stay.” 

_It’s a trick,_ Sakura told herself. There was no way Sarutobi would offer her a spot in the ranks when she was clearly so dangerous and revealed nothing of her past. She was going to be lulled into a false sense of security and then assassinated in her goddamn sleep. 

Why was that bad? 

There was no one to go back to. Sakura had _nothing._ She fulfilled her goal and now all she wanted to do was rest. If she joined, she would have a few glorious days where she would get to play pretend and be a part of Konoha again. Her heart just _ached_ at the thought of being here again and Sakura knew that she had no choice. 

Even if she was to be murdered, at least it would be by a Konoha ninja. 

“Okay,” Sakura said, voice barely above a whisper. “But why?” 

In Konoha’s eyes, Sakura was a foreign ninja who did something nice this one time. She was someone who could definitely be a threat. She had half expected them to lock up her with some bullshit administrative reasons, be tortured for information, and recondition her as a loyal ninja. 

But here she was, in the Hokage Office, smelling of paperwork and ink and the sunlight hitting her skin warmly. The Hokage gave her a small smile of knowing- as if he understands the fuck up journey she just went through. As if he wouldn’t murder her the first opportunity he gets. 

“Itachi and Obito asked if I would, and if I am honest, I was apprehensive at first. But now seeing you, I could see why they asked for such a request.” To her horror, Sarutobi reached out to warmly clasp her hands. “You look like you can take a break, my girl.” 

_Itachi and Obito asked?_ That was a surprise. She had done nothing to convince either of them that she was a good person. 

Her relationship with Itachi was purely a fleeting one. After she chucked Orochimaru back to Konoha, Sakura had kicked down the Akatsuki doors, explained the truth of Madara and Kaguya and asked for help. A few bloody murder sprees of Akatsuki and destroyed bases later, Itachi had agreed and helped take Madara down. They hadn’t said anything personal in that span of time, just a few conversations about their skills in order to attack together. 

Obito was even more strange as her encounter with him was beating him to the ground with Itachi while attempting to talk to him. When that didn’t work, Sakura ripped his eyes out (with great help from Itachi) and _made_ him listen. Yes, she healed them back into his head, but most people didn’t appreciate it when they got their eyeballs popping out. 

“A break.” Sakura echoed back. When was the last time she had taken a break? Back when she was a genin? She couldn’t remember the time where she wasn’t doing something, whether it be training or healing people. _A break_? She hadn’t taken a single moment ever since she came back in time. 

“You’ll be on probation for a while. Konoha has some nice forests to walk around in the meantime.” 

A quick rustle and heavy metal was pressed against her palms. She didn’t have to look at what it was, she knew instinctively. It was a weight she had carried with her since she was a fresh genin. A forehead protector. 

_Oh god._ She pressed it hard against the flesh part of her skin. The sharp metal dug into her soft palm shooting up pain. _Real it was real._

“I didn’t even say yes.” 

Sarutobi gave her a pat on the shoulder and Sakura realised even after returning to the past, she was only in her twenties and the man in front of her had years of experience above her. She was still so little compared to him. 

“You are free to change your mind when you want. For now, Kakashi-kun will show you the way.” 

_Free to change your mind?_ That was bullshit. No ninja could just ‘change their mind’ on whether they would serve a village. Sakura took a deep breath, steeling herself but it was a lost cause. Sakura couldn’t say no and Sarutobi knew that. She was so starved for Konoha they could have her locked in the torture chamber and she would be happy just to be in Konoha. 

A familiar chakra signature and Kakashi-sensei- _shit just Kakashi_ \- was by her side. And holy shitballs he was _young._ Yeah, she knew she came back to the past but for some reason, she just didn’t expect Kakashi to be so goddamn young. This was her _sensei_ for christ sake. But now she was almost the same age as him?

The gap between Kakashi-sensei in her mind and Kakashi in front of her somehow made this okay. It wasn’t like meeting Orochimaru where she was dumped with a shit ton of memories and fear mingled with terrible, terrible nausea. Orochimaru had looked the same as he did, carrying the same intense chakra as he had. 

“Yo.” The signature two hand salute was familiar but everything was so different. Kakashi _screamed_ of ANBU, not the lackadaisical sensei that she once had. This man was dangerous and broken. 

She extended her hand for a handshake. “I’m Hanari. I guess I’m a ninja of the Leaf now?” She glanced at Sarutobi who gave her an approving nod. 

The moment Kakashi and Sakura stepped out of Hokage Tower, she is greeted by a very, very small Sasuke Uchiha. The tiny little thing, still an Academy student, was already a ball of hatred and anger. 

“Are you the one that brought Itachi back?” The finger he was pointing at her accusatorially was so miniature. 

The tiny Uchiha was hilarious to see and Sakura wondered how they managed to get that much hatred out of him in the span of their friendship. What Sasuke was like was pretty hazy in her memory but now looking at it directly, he was an absolute angst-filled brood. Suddenly, she was thrown back to Sasuke who caused so much grief in the past. 

“Nah, didn’t you hear? Itachi came back on his own.” Sakura leaned down to hold eye contact with the younger self of her teammate. “Congratulations, Sasuke. Your brother isn’t a traitor. He still is a mass murderer though who killed your entire Clan with your cousin. But to be fair, Itachi was under orders so there wasn’t really much he could do since your Clan was planning a coup to overthrow Konoha. I guess the real villain here is the person who knew this and didn’t tell anyone. Me.” 

And like that, Sakura had Itachi-ed Sasuke. 

She knew that if she didn’t interfere, Sasuke would probably _hate_ Konoha and walk down the old path of razing this village to the ground. Much better that he hated Sakura for not coming forth with the information and letting Sasuke suffer for a long time. Well, in Sasuke’s mind anyway. There was no way that Sakura could explain that she had only been ‘here’ for six months. 

Plus, Sasuke would grow strong just to beat her. She could see why Itachi chose to do this. It was so easy to read Sasuke’s emotions. 

“You’ve put so many Uchihas through hell because of your silence.” Sasuke hissed out. She really tried not to laugh at the small Sasuke seething in anger but it was so cute and she let out a small huff. 

Sakura shrugged. “Okay, but like, I don’t care? Why would I care about Uchihas? I’m literally just a random ninja, well I mean I’m a Konoha ninja now, but I _was_ just a random ninja.” 

Sasuke stood still, face turning red in fury. Sakura winked at him. “You’re welcome to kill me if you’re mad.” 

She left him standing there. Honestly, that boy was a drama queen. Hopefully now with an actual family, he would grow to be a more of a sensible adjusted adult, not the missing-nin who decides to kill his brother, then take revenge on his brother, then go back to siding with his brother. What an overkill. 

“How did you know that was Sasuke Uchiha?” Kakashi asked. 

The little irrational comfort that Kakashi gave fizzled away at the question. Of course, Kakashi here was a Konoha ninja looking over a dangerous foreign shinobi. He was here for intel and basically a guard. This wasn’t her Kakashi-sensei who would protect her and give his life for hers. This was Kakashi who would kill her at the first wrong step. 

And she could feel it too, the chakra that emitted from him. Cold and calculating. 

“The hair, the face, the attitude and the massive Uchiha fan logo on his shirt. Plus, Itachi mentioned that he had a lot of making up to do to his little brother.”

Kakashi hummed and Sakura knew that he accepted her answer. 

They stepped out onto Main Street.

And Sakura felt her heart clench. She hadn’t seen this Main Street in so many years, it was before Pein attacked them, the old home that was _hers_ but in memory. The smell of yakitori in the air, the sound of clacking wheels from the wheelbarrows and the sight of merchants moving around hit her in the face and Sakura can’t - she couldn’t- _was that Genma?_

_Genma bleeding on the floor, a horrific-looking spike protruding from his eye. Sakura was one of the best medics in the world but even she couldn’t bring back the dead._

This was a bad idea. Sakura couldn’t live here with ghosts of her memory pressing on to her. _Chakra chakra chakra_ she told herself, drawing and letting the flame burn inside her. Concentrating on her flames centred her, one thing that stayed the same throughout everything. 

She needed to go somewhere that didn’t bring back an onslaught of memories. Somewhere that she wasn’t familiar with. 

“Where’s the red light district?” 

* * *

That’s how Sakura found herself a house. It was an old clan sector if Sakura remembered correctly, this Clan was wiped out during the Kyuubi attack. From all the money she received from killing Akatsuki members and other bounties she hunted, Sakura could probably afford a place near Main Street but she couldn’t imagine being there. 

The place was nice and large, including a small training ground. The nearest brothel was a whole two blocks away. 

It took two days for Sakura to settle and decorate her house. Well, decorating was a nice word but in reality, there was too much room for her to fill. The four rooms were renovated to be a bedroom, a study, a lab and storage. 

In her previous life, her little apartment was filled with plants and more importantly, a guest bedroom that someone inevitably ended up staying in either whole or bleeding. But no one would stay here now. 

There was no need to decorate, Sakura had no motivation. She didn’t want to make things pretty, she didn’t want to lounge on a comfy sofa and ensure the sunlight hit her just right. 

Sakura just slept. 

She didn’t train, read, or even work on her posions. Sakura stayed in her bed, looking at the wooden ceiling wishing that she was asleep so she didn’t have to think. 

The days all blurred into one. 

And then Sakura was awake, more alert than ever. Her body hummed with energy strung like a bow and ready to kill. Someone was here. Without thinking, she grabbed the kunai underneath her pillow and swung in front of her. 

Her blow was met with satisfying flesh and blood gushed out from the figure, splattering her face. She had stabbed enough people to know that she hit an artery. She had also stabbed enough people to know that the the dying breath of a ninja was the most dangerous one. 

Sakura didn’t hesitate to lace her blade with strength and chakra to stab. Slick liquid covered her fists as she felt it crack through the ninja’s flesh, ribcage, and air again. 

Six chakra signatures, two familiar, flickered and Sakura threw the now corpse to her left with deadly force. The mangled body didn’t hit anyone but sailed through the wall of her house. A few seconds later, it exploded in her lab. 

Now, this was going to be a quick one. 

Her hand glowed with chakra, illuminating the room and the presences with a dim blue light. They were four masked people all wearing standard ANBU gear but Sakura knew better. She was once the beating heart of a village and ANBU inside out. She knew that ANBU didn’t carry tipless tantos. 

Perhaps it was going to be easy to fix Konoha. 

Sakura let out a snarl as she launched herself to one of the figures with a leg outstretched while locking her eyes to the furthest person. She didn’t even have to utter the name of the genjutsu to snare him in. 

The genjutsu bursted with emotion, the emotion that this operative would have been wholly unprepared for and something that they haven’t felt in a long time. 

Love. 

The genjutsu was camaraderie and family and sex mingled together in the hotness of emotion that buckled anyone to their knees. The intense feelings of _want_ and _happiness_ and _content_ that made the person ecstatic and fuelling them. But this wasn’t a normal shinobi that ticked on something so naive. 

This was a Root operative with emotion beaten out of them with ruthless conditioning. The boy fell over, shaking. 

One of the men ran through familiar hand signs. Sakura snapped her leg to herself and sank low, letting the ball of water fly over her. The jutsu was crackling with power and sprayed her with a sheen of mist as it went past. 

Two of the faceless men lunged at her. One with swords outstretched and one with wire. Sakura almost scoffed at the lack of coordination with the attacks and merely twisted herself to move out of the way. A simple hunch and now Sakura was jumping towards them with chakra gathering in her fist. She made contact with one of them, felt the shoulder bone explode under her and the muscles ripping out. Her other arm reached out to grab the sword. 

She met the sword full force with her hands. The hardened steel dug through her fingers and cut her ring finger clean off but Sakura didn’t care. She grasped it even tighter until it shattered like glass and threw the pieces back at the nin with the ferocity that she was known for. The pieces of metal hit the target and the choking sound of a person was the confirmation she needed. 

Sakura snapped her back up ready to meet the third operative sneaking from the ceiling but at the last second, she shunshined under her bed. It didn’t even take a considerable amount of effort to kick her bed upwards to squash the man. The heavy wooden frame cracked and splintered into pieces at the contact before they rained back to the floor. 

And it was done. 

“Take him to T&I.” She said aloud.

The sixth figure emerged from the shadow, one red eye blazing even in the dim light. 

The distance between them was closed in a heartbeat. 

Sakura was fast, but she wasn’t faster than Sharingan no Kakashi. In seconds, his fingers were wrapped around her neck, squeezing tight. She could do a lot of things at that moment, but she stayed still. 

The fingers wrapped themselves even tighter, the thumb insistent on her carotid artery. She could feel her heartbeat thumping against his hand, oxygen struggling to get to her lungs.

She had heard of her sensei being _different_ before Team 7. Legends of Hound with hushed whispers. But she hadn’t expected anything like this. He was nothing like the Kakashi she had known, the porn reading yet a lovable teacher. This was an assassin bred to kill without a second thought. His presence outweighed the five ruthless Root members in sheer menace. This man was terrifying. 

And Sakura wondered if this was how she was going to die. 

Her vision began to swim with black spots and she needed to _breathe breathe breathe-_

Kakashi threw her to her dresser. Her back met the full force, decimating the poor furniture.

Sweet, sweet air rushed back to her lungs and Sakura doubled over hacking. The broken pieces of furniture dug through her thin pyjamas but that was the last thing on her mind. Her throat burned where he touched, in pain but more out of shock. 

Kakashi moved toward her in a predatory manner and it took everything in Sakura not to cower. “Had fun?” 

The slow guttural tone was mocking her. 

That was enough to fish Sakura out of the lethargic lapse she was in. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. Smash her fists into this _arrogant_ stranger until he was missing his teeth. 

Sakura didn’t even attempt to move from her crumpled form. “Who said Konoha was a nice village? Because this is the worst welcome party I’ve ever been to.”

Kakashi’s red and grey eyes traced over her body. “Why are you here?” He asked tonelessly. His foot was on her chest now, pressing down hard enough that she couldn’t move but not hard enough to actually do anything to her. It was a threat, and she felt it. _And it made her feel alive._

She let out a cold laugh. “This is my house, Kakashi-san. I should be asking that question to you.” 

The foot pressed harder and Sakura was sick of holding back. 

She snagged the ankle in a death grip with full intent to shatter. Hands barely touched the fabric before Kakashi disappeared with smoke and her pillow landed on top of her instead. Now Kakashi stood where the pillow was. 

“I _will_ kill you.” 

“Oh, please.” 

This time, Sakura was the one who approached first. A manic agitated rage filled her and she was a projectile, ripping through the air with grappling hands. Kakashi’s face was right under hers and their eyes met once again. 

Every one of her attacks was blocked and all she could do was add even more strength in attempts to break him. When they finally broke apart, both were shuddering for breath. 

Then again. 

She drove her elbow to meet his solar plexus while pivoting to sidestep his leg. Sakura had sparred countlessly with the man and she knew his patterns just like she knew the back of her kunai. 

Or she thought.

This man was a _rabid animal_ and his left leg kicked out with incredible force, forcing her to bring her arms up. Sakura skidded back, barely managing to get through the doorway to not destroy even more of her house. Kakashi was in front of her in an instant, shoving her by her throat and Sakura barely managed to leap back to break his hold. 

“You’re going to help clean after this.” Sakura hissed out in anger. She was leaving trails of blood from her missing finger, and blood was a _nightmare_ to get out in these old wooden floors. 

Kakashi’s face twisted into one that she had never seen before. Feral violence and promise of a corpse in a matchbox met her gaze. His attacks came in exhilarating speeds but Sakura was attuned enough to maneuver and weave out with flexibility. Unfortunately, this Kakashi was more vicious and she had never sparred with Sensei who had the intent to kill. 

An ill-timed kick and a kunai sank into her leg causing a hot jolt of pain. Sakura didn’t even stutter in retaliation with a roundhouse kick to his face. The back of her heel barely connected with his face, but her sheer strength was enough to blast him out of the house through the walls. 

_Finally,_ Kakashi’s Sharingan blazed to life. The black wheel spinning to ensnare her. That might have been fatal to anyone else except Sakura, who had been dealing with a string of murderous Uchihas for her entire life. 

And that one Uchiha who left a parting gift. Her Sasuke was long gone, but he would always be there for her. Team 7. 

A simple tap on her temple was enough to unseal her left eye. With her abysmal chakra pool compared to Sasuke, it wasn’t wise to keep it on her and considering that she wasn’t an actual Uchiha, the strain of just having it on her was already greedily taking her chakra away at an alarming speed. She would never be even remotely skilled enough to match what the previous owner could've done, but that was the same for Kakashi. 

Sakura didn’t need to flaunt her skills. A Sharingan meant too much in Konoha and she knew her value. Especially since hers was a Mangekyo. She raised a single eyebrow at Kakashi. 

Kakashi to his credit didn’t Water Dragon her but stood still in his stance. “Stealing dojutsu is a reason for execution.” 

She cocked her head. “You think I would be able to steal from a Sharingan user who unlocked his Mangekyo? I’m flattered.” 

Seeing that Kakashi wasn’t actively trying to tear her entrails out- not that he _really_ was or he would’ve used a lot more jutsus- Sakura let her blue chakra fizzle away and replaced it with a green glow to heal herself growing back the previously gone finger.

The copy nin still didn’t move but his eyes scanned over her, taking in everything she was doing. Almost with reluctance, he lowered his arms. “You’ll never be off probation if I don’t approve.” 

Ah- good thing that Sakura didn’t give a shit and she was an excellent bullshit sniffer. “I know my worth.” 

She had shown her taijutsu, Genjutsu, medical Jutsu and Sharingan. That was enough to list her as an asset even as a loose cannon. Especially if Kakashi was there to keep a leash on her neck. 

Kakashi’s chakra flared and for a second, Sakura felt icy dread. Did she miscalculate? But soon, an ANBU squad materialised next to him. 

There was a flurry of hand signs, _take to T &I, not ANBU, dangerous _ than out of bemusement, Sakura signed back. _Genjutsu. Awake in two hours._

Kakashi looked like he wanted to pummel her to the ground and feed her to his dogs. It was a nice colour on him. It helped Sakura to think of this as Kakashi and let Kakashi-sensei die in her mind. The conflicted feelings of _safety_ and _danger_ now stopped fighting in her, leaving behind an exhilarating _fun._

And Tiger, bless her heart, must’ve thought that she was an ANBU without a mask because she signed back _affirmative_ and collected the bodies. 

“Tell me a reason why I shouldn’t drag you down to T&I right now.” 

Sakura shrugged. “Eh, I’m sure you can find me a slot after interrogating the man. After all, he’s-” and Sakura signed a single crooked pinkie. _Root._

But he was more than that. That Root was Sai. But damn if she was going to tell him that she would never do anything to hurt a single hair on his head. There was a reason she used a genjutsu that brought happy emotions. The Sai she knew would get through this nonsense, breaking through the conditioning on just that encounter alone. Hopefully, he would recover. 

Fortunately, that came at the price of a seething Kakashi. She was pretty pleased. 

* * *

Thankfully, she wasn’t murdered in her sleep yet but now found herself sitting in front of Morino Ibiki in the grey interrogation room. Kakashi must have heeded her advice and slotted her right after Sai’s interrogation because they collected her the very next day. 

It was interesting to sit on the other side of the table, facing the big mirrors. She was so used to sitting where Ibiki was, facing half dead nins with missing fingernails as she stabbed her senbon to methodically tear away and heal repeatedly. Ibiki had been her mentor back then, teaching the past young, naive Sakura. 

“What is your goal?” 

Ah, this was the mind fuck route that Ibiki was taking. Sakura sighed, knowing that he was going for the long con. She just wanted to go back to her bed and sleep now, not dance in words and nuances. She had furniture shopping to do now that her bedroom was annihilated and tatami mats to clean. 

“Is this a job interview? I thought I was in the _Torture and Interrogation_ sector, Ibiki-san.” 

Ibiki didn’t even blink. “Any family?” 

Sakura wiggled in her seat, trying to get as comfortable as she could. “Everyone’s dead. Revenge is done. No goals in life. Does not have trouble with authority. My information about Konoha was told by a friend who is long dead. Am willing to die for Konoha.” She listed methodically. 

Ibiki smiled at her. “Willing to die for Konoha?” He quoted after her. Of course, that was the part that actually mattered. This whole thing was a farce. Yes, they probably cared where she got the information from to go after Itachi and Obito. They cared a great deal about the Sharingan and were probably dying to know. However, all those things were secondary because if loyalty to Konoha was cemented, the bearing of the soul to teammates came naturally. Then all Konoha had to do was break someone who she confided in. 

Sakura nodded, pulling her shirt down to show right below her collarbone. She stared directly at Ibiki as he took in the sight. To his credit, Ibiki didn’t show any emotions except the benevolent smile that screamed _I understand your pain._ The best type of torture against a broken shinobi, someone who understood. 

“It must be hard carrying around the insignia of a Village that you are not affiliated in.” 

Sakura tapped it with a small amount of chakra, and it immediately sprung to life. The symbol of Konoha tattooed into her chest unfolded themselves and stretched in tendrils of ink. It was a seal, Naruto’s design. 

“I will protect Konoha until I die.” Ibiki read out loud. “That’s some seal you have on you. How do you feel having essentially a slavery seal embedded on you?” 

“It’s not slavery if I choose. Its service.” Sakura responded. 

“And you’re okay with that?” 

Goddamn, that shouldn’t affect her, but it did. It was the fact that Ibiki was _her mentor_ once and the way that man faked concern was astounding. Sakura for a second was tempted to actually tell him that she was _proud_ of this seal because it showed her loyalty and that she would never waver. 

Instead, Sakura leaned forwards, taking in the bandana-wearing man. “Would you be okay with that? You’re a loyal ninja of Konoha, Ibiki. But would you be prepared to have a seal that forced that loyalty upon you? You would have to choose Konoha over everything. Your family, your friends, and even yourself.” 

The scarred man looked at her as if she was a delicate flower. As if he could help her through the pain. Even knowing it was a ruse, Sakura felt herself get riled up, needing to tell him that he would _never_ be able to understand the resolve it took to etch those words into her. Sakura bit her tongue. 

“I’m not sure, Hanari-san. You are very brave to do so. Please understand that although probational, you are a Konoha nin and we are on the same side. This isn’t an interrogation but- how did you phrase it- a job interview. I just want to know you better.” Ibiki’s eyes felt as sharp as a kunai as if he could see right through her. 

Sakura took a deep breath. She can’t be rattled by him. Sakura had to play along just enough to bluff him. “Okay.” She said. 

Ibiki gave her an assuring pat on the shoulder and Sakura wanted to tear his arm off because it wasn’t _her_ Ibiki but wrong. Sakura smiled back. 

“Were you ever in a village?” 

Sakura nodded. “Yes. It was decimated.” She responded truthfully. 

Her interrogator frowned as if he was feeling bad for her, as if he could even fathom how it was like to see your beloved village in ashes and dust without anything to even clutch and cry upon because it was just simply gone. She grimaced, the sudden memory of her parents crushed under a beam and her dad’s fingers slowly moving towards Sakura in desperation-

“You have gone through a lot. Do you miss your village?” 

_Did she miss-? Was he serious?_ This was too much of a torture, a willing ear to listen asking her the memories that she attempted to dissociate from. Knowing the methods of torture did nothing to help her, only made her dread what was coming next. 

Sakura’s green eyes met brown ones. “If you really believe me to be a fellow Konoha nin, please _stop_ pretending that you care and just ask me what you want to know.” She begged. 

Of course, what Sakura had just done was offer her weakness on a silver platter. Ibiki’s mouth dropped a sympathy line and her heart skidded a few beats. _Not Ibiki-senpai. Not Ibiki senpai._ She told herself. This was a threat and Sakura couldn’t cave. She was strong. 

“I promise, I’m just a colleague who wants to get acquainted with you. It’s not every day that an S-Class ninja with pledged service walks into the village.” 

Sakura wanted to bury her head in her hands. Even now she was outclassed by Ibiki. The only way she could win was if she throttled him and made him bleed on this metal table. Perhaps that would stop him from asking the questions and making her relieve snippets of her life. “Of course.” She gritted out instead. 

“I heard that you met Kakashi-kun. How is he?” 

That was a subject she felt comfortable about. This Kakashi was a stranger to her. “Pretty competent.”

“And?” 

“I’ll only tell you if you promise to stop him if he comes to Chidori me,” Sakura said, looking at the glass fully knowing that the copy nin would be staring at her. 

Ibiki’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “I promise.” 

Sakura bared her teeth while not breaking eye contact with the glass wall. “Like an attack dog on a very long leash. If he was any less skilled, I would recommend having him put down. I could probably kill him if I tried very hard but doesn’t seem worth the trouble he is.” 

The Head of T&I burst out laughing and Sakura thought maybe it was genuine. “I see why Obito and Itachi recommended you.” He said. 

Sakura snapped her head back to the man. “Recommended?” 

“You already know the ANBU signs so it’ll be easy for you. Congratulations, you’re off probation! Welcome to Konohagakure and to ANBU. Unfortunately, that does mean you’re going to answer a little more of my questions.” 

Her mouth opened in shock. She expected some assimilation and nice coddling under watchful eyes, not to be shipped as _ANBU_ who served a direct line to the Hokage. Her Shisho would’ve never allowed _Hanari_ to be an ANBU when she was Hokage but it turned out Sarutobi was a lot more ruthless than she knew. No doubt he was also there watching her. 

Ibiki asked more questions like he said, not prying for too much actual information but about the extent of her skills which she tried to answer as truthfully as possible. He went on went on to ask her about mundane questions too- favourite food, book, katas- and she also answered truthfully. Well, answering that she learnt the ANBU signs from her friend was the truth in all technicality.

When they reached an end of mundane questions, that’s when Ibiki attacked. “You’ve been in this room before.” 

Sakura blinked owlishly back at him. “Of course not.” 

“How did you know Kakashi would be standing on the left? Any reasonable person would assume that if the Hokage and his shinobi were standing behind there, the shinobi would be standing on his _right._ If not, you should have been looking at the middle of the mirror. But you looked directly where Kakashi would be standing _”_

Because Sakura knew that since Sensei had a tendency to burst into interrogation rooms and impale them at his whim, the Hokage always stood near the door. _Fuck._ “I just stared at a window, Ibiki-san. I can’t actually see him, it was a random spot.” She replied as evenly as she could. A flimsy excuse and a first crack. 

“You’re not a very good liar, Hanari-san.” 

Sakura knew she was a little fucked, which was why she was glad when the light on the desk blared red. _Code Zero. Someone’s broken in._

Ibiki gave her a long look and Sakura attempted to smile her best _I’m not dangerous at all_ smile back. Thankfully, everything besides that little slip must have been satisfactory because he stood up, and offered a hand. 

Taking his hand, Sakura stood also and gave her legs a stretch. When she opened the door, only Kakashi was there wearing his mask. The cream coloured half cape draped across his back signifying that he was a commander. 

Even through his mask, Sakura could tell he _hated_ to be standing here right now. The copy nin unceremoniously dumped ANBU gear on her. “You will be Bird.” 

At least in this life, she escaped being Butterfly. This mask a little less of the blue intricate inks but simple red stripes that resembled wings.

Sakura nodded, not even hesitating for a second before stripping down to change. Kakashi’s gaze felt hot against her skin as the mismatched eyes roamed her form. Sakura had changed countless times in front of her sensei- they were in war- but that had never made her feel so on edge like this. Ridiculously, that gave her a huge rush of relief. It just reaffirmed that this was just a stranger with the same name. 

“They’re here,” Kakashi said, signalling _Root._

Ah, this made sense. There weren’t that many people who could be here right now in a fight against Root which was an organization that supposedly didn’t exist. She felt a little guilty at the relief that flushed her body that this was the exact moment when they decided to infiltrate. 

They swiftly made their way down to the prisoner’s cells and the metallic scent of blood and smoke met her first. It was a few hallways down to cells where she saw the chaos. 

She recognized Anko and a few other ninjas, the only one who had clearance to even come to this floor where the deepest secret of the village was kept. Half a dozen T&I were on the floor, mostly casualties. The faceless masks of Root were moving as one, the scattered position easily recognizable as an extraction unit. Shurikens and kunai were everywhere, and everyone was engaged in combat. 

_Where’s the subject?_ Sakura signed behind her back. 

_Down._ Kakashi signed back. That was enough.

Then the two joined in the fight. Sakura took great care not to ram her fists through the floor in case it created easy access to below. She thought she would have to fake her sync with Kakashi and intentionally miss a few openings but she didn’t have to act as it was impossible to catch up with that man. 

The torrent of violence was refreshing. Kakashi didn’t think twice about skewering with his sword into her arm to reach the enemy next to her, only covering her the barest amount of time to heal. Sakura scowled behind the mask at the feeling of Kakashi’s kunai grazing against her ribs on the way to kill for the umpteenth time. This was either a test to see if she would trust him or his plan to accidentally mutilate her. Whatever it was, it was annoying. 

Kakashi was a one-man army. The cape fluttered behind him leaving only a white line where he travelled. The harmony of flexibility and brutality as his muscle went from taunt sharp to fluid as a river from one kata to another, not even pausing during his form to perform a jutsu was… 

Breathtaking. 

“Who the fuck are these guys? Care for some explanation ANBU?” Anko spat out. Her teeth were covered in blood and the maniacal grin plastered on her face already explained so much about the type of person Anko was.

Sakura drowned the voices out. She couldn’t wallow at Anko-senpai right now. Instead, she channelled that frustration towards the attacker in front of her. When her fist met their jaw in the brutal uppercut, Sakura briefly wanted to grab their waist and tear them into two pieces but held back. No need to get bloodthirsty here. A swift kunai to the heart was enough. 

Kakashi zipped through them with his hand sparking the familiar blue. Sakura could taste the bitter crackling ozone in the air that made the hairs on her arm stand up. Thousands of chirping birds rang in her ears, screeching against her, taunting her like they _knew-_

Then the frail thing holding back Sakura snapped.

Her fists were weightless as they whipped through the air. The blood dripped through the grooves of her fists, the flesh beneath her nails as she tore the lungs out of the nin in front of her. The organ was still exhaling its last brain as it fell to the ground in a grotesque heap. 

The high squeal of Chidori rang, _danger danger danger_ and onslaught of memories of Sensei and Sasuke rang in her mind. The last jutsu they ever used fizzled away on the ground, only blood replacing the blue orb- she had to _kill whoever was in her way-_

Her hands were outstretched to tear the vocal cords of the man in front of her when she felt hands wrap like steel cables against her wrist. 

The touch wasn’t threatening but restraining. Sakura snarled against him, elbow already aimed between his ribcage to burst whoever dared to stop her. 

“Stop.” The harsh voice ordered. 

For all the anger that endlessly curled itself inside her, Sakura was always a ninja of Konoha. She snapped to attention. The grip burned against her skin, etching each individual finger marks almost to her bones. The blue was gone now. Only red around her. Red was safe, which meant that she managed to obliterate everything in her path at least. 

Sakura let her tense shoulder drop, wordlessly healing herself. She stepped forwards to the fallen (now and past) comrades, feeling Kakashi’s eyes boring into the back of her head. 

The girl was Mizumi, Sakura remembered. The purple hair with too big eyes could seduce anyone with a dainty flow of her dress. Sakura could see the girl’s femur sticking out like a white stick. 

“I-It’s okay.” Mizumi stammered out, pulling herself away and towards Anko. “I’ll go to the hospital.” She dragged her mangled leg away from her. The too big eyes looked at her with fear barely concealed inside them and Sakura couldn’t move. 

She was a monster here. Around her laid disfigured bodies with torn limbs carelessly strewn about. Blood was covering her head to toe, both hers and others. 

This wasn’t war, this was peacetime Konoha. How could she forget? She had called Kakashi an attack dog, little did she know it was her fucking introduction. Mizumi, the seduction ninja with pairs of metaphorical steel balls, was scared of her. 

Sakura took a deep breath trying to call on her memories of the petite medic who worked at the Konoha hospital. Good thing she didn’t have to fake a smile as it was hidden behind a mask.

“Don’t worry, I’m a medic. See? I even healed myself after that dick stabbed me.” Sakura said, approaching closer. 

Everyone was looking at her now and she swallowed the impulse to tell everyone to scram. Although she didn’t say the name, everyone in the room who had enough clearance to be here knew that the ANBU Commander, Hound, was Kakashi. She was probably the only person brave enough to call him a dick and not get stabbed. Well, she had already gotten stabbed _repeatedly_ by him so there was nothing to be scared of. 

Mizumi was the only one who dared to giggle, her laughter bouncing the bloodied hallway. She did have her bone sticking out of her and by the out of focused look, a nasty concussion. “Okay, please help.” 

Sakura didn’t need more. Starting from Mizumi, she healed major wounds from the fallen nin, stitching tissues together in the best emergency care that she could. Two were dead, only one she recognised. Sakura tried not to think about how the person had been alive when she didn’t interfere with the timeline. She healed the other apprehensive ninjas with curious looks in attempts to figure out who she was. 

As the members of T&I shunshined away, she approached Kakashi. 

He gave her a storage scroll which she dutifully sealed the bodies in. All of them looked young, barely over sixteen at most. If murdering children was the price she had to pay to give Sai a better future, she was content. 

Finally, she raised her green hand. Kakashi stared intently at a particularly messy sprawl of blood on the wall. She pulled off the already tattered ANBU gear to heal the gash on his rib. It was already turning a molten green and purple; the telltale sign of poison. Since it hadn’t been a long time, it didn’t need much. Sakura flared her chakra, stripping the poison down with brute force. From experience, she knew it hurt like an absolute bitch but Kakashi didn’t even flinch. 

She considered cleaving his clothes in two to check other scars but… she wasn’t going to overstep. He didn’t ask, and Sakura didn’t run a charity. 

Sakura stepped back and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written anything like this before, I've only written fluffy 1000-3000 words chapters. I don't know how good it is and honestly, I just wrote it to get it out of my damn system. It's going to be eventual Kakashi x Sakura but very eventual. 
> 
> Just PSA, English is my second language so if anyone wants to be my beta, I would cry over in happiness. I know my sentences are quite abrupt with no elegance but I do try my best. 
> 
> My goal is to actually finish this story with a satisfying ending with the characters being less broken than they are now. A time travel fix it- but the characters per se. 
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading this convoluted mess.


	2. damn uchihas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by my incredibly beta, asterknightengale8. Thank you for reading through this very long chapter and fixing the many, many mistakes.

_I hope someone doesn’t come to find me and ask for a report._

A throaty moan brought her out of her musings. 

Under her was a lithe figure with a mess of purple hair. The pink blush could have been a mark of innocence but the half-opened mouth was nothing if sinful. 

Sakura didn’t hesitate to meet her mouth, slanting it against the soft lips. The girl positively purred in her mouth, hands roaming like butterflies across her scars. 

“It was _you,_ wasn’t it?” A hand tugged on her pink locks, spinning it around.Of course Anko would’ve caught her. The face was hidden behind the mask that day but the hair was definitely visible. 

“Shh,” Sakura whispered against her neck. Whatever other question was forming in the other woman’s mouth disappeared as Sakura slotted her knee in the right position. The girl trembled against her like a precarious leaf in the wind. 

The girl didn’t argue back, probably because they were standing in an open dark alleyway behind a bar just out of view of an old fading street lamp. Far away, Sakura could hear the laughter of people still in the bar. 

Purple hair tickled Sakura’s chin as the girl rolled her hips against her. “I guess you liked the show in T&I if you hunted me down to this bar.” 

Sakura bit soft flesh under her, drawing a whimper. “Of course, _Hanari._ ” 

That was enough foreplay. Sakura shunshined them to her apartment and they landed in bed, _thank god Sakura had fixed it,_ with tangled limbs. As Anko’s fingertips grazed over her nipple, Sakura could finally stop something she had been doing since she arrived.

She stopped _thinking._

The pair moved in an artful tandem with tender touches. One hand stroking and the other circling, they took their time to undress. Anko’s cold body was against Sakura’s, her cold mouth trailing down to the throbbing area. It took an antagonizing long time until it reached, but when it did, Sakura jolted from the pleasurable sensation. 

Her mind was now a haze of alcohol and lust as all she could do was grip her bedsheet tight and let out a shuddering breath. Two fingers slid inside coyly and Sakura ground against them forcefully to feel them _reach._ Her inner walls fluttered in a pulse around the fingers and her thighs shook with each lewd wet thrust. 

Anko just grinned and fucked her harder. 

It was a slow rise to the top, a gentle wave that floated her over to ecstasy. It was the release of all the pent up tension that was inside of her that puffed out of existence in just those few precious seconds of pure joy. 

Sakura, ever the gratuitous host, immediately flipped them over to return the favour. 

She tried to be as gentle as possible, she really did. Anko mewled against her body ,writhing in pleasure as Sakura used her fingers while flicking her tongue. She planted kisses inside the thighs instead of biting them, murmuring encouraging words onto her. Her other hand caressed her chest instead of pressing down on the throat to hear the desperate gasps mingled with lust and want. 

_Honey, does it feel good? are you okay? you’re so sexy, good job sweetheart._

The empty words were spoken only through the lens of sex, strung into lies as Anko came below her with a high pitched wail. 

Now that Sakura had fucked her and saw this soft side, Anko didn’t feel like Anko-senpai but, just Anko. Once again, Sakura could breathe. 

After six-months of ruthless battles and celibacy (Sakura hadn’t felt an inkling of horniness, just anxiety and focus to hunt down), it was a lacklustre ending. It didn’t matter though, she just needed to find the next person to satiate it. For now, the beast was fed and content to lie. 

She left Anko there, heading to the shower. When she came back out, her bed was empty with just a few strands of purple hair left behind. 

_At least she could take a hint._

Sakura let out a long sigh. A week of wallowing was enough. Now that she had… introduced herself to the Konoha population, she was going to have to assimilate. No matter how painful it was to her, she promised everyone that she would protect Konoha. It was time to start. 

***

Sakura quite nearly accidentally decapitated Kakashi when he woke her up that morning and nearly decapitated him again when the nin slapped the ANBU seal on her without warning. It was a blessing in disguise, as if Kakashi had actually looked at her closely, he would see that she already had a seal on her. But they both left relatively unharmed with only a couple of bruises. 

When he shunshined with her, she was met with the familiar sight of Hokage mountain. Before her were layers of careful genjutsu and seals which would fry a normal person if they accidentally entered. _ANBU HQ._

Sakura had never seen the old ANBU HQ before Pein flattened it and after seeing the interior she seriously considered that Pein might need to do a quick flattening again. The underground tower was an old creaky thing with barely maintained bridges across a deep hole. Tall metal beams were covered in ripped seals and broken weaponry. Turned out that a secret hideout with a rotating roster wasn’t very well kempt.

The Few ANBU walking around immediately disappeared after a respectful nod when encountering Kakashi and Sakura didn’t blame them. The aura of danger and irritation radiated from the man. 

Kakashi jumped down and Sakura followed until they reached a door.

Inside, two very familiar people were standing. 

“Is this for real? _”_ Sakura shuddered out. 

Two Uchihas were standing there, dressed in their standard gear. 

Kakashi ignored her. “This is Team Ro. Consisting of Fox, Weasel, Bird. Weasel will be my second in command.” 

“Hai, taicho.” The soft voice intoned and Sakura wondered if she would be able to get away with murdering him. She would tear out his eyes, murmuring to him that now Itachi was dead, Sasuke would never get to see without his brother’s eyes and he was doomed to eternal blindness. 

“Unfortunately, ANBU is a democratic process so you need to prove your worth. Try _not_ to kill anyone.” He said with a pointed stare at Sakura. 

When the Kakashi left, Sakura wasted no time. “The Third must be _senile_.” She said brusquely. 

“Hello, Hanari-san. I didn’t get a chance to thank you for all you’ve done.” Weasel said, strapping his gear tighter. As if this was a normal conversation between two ordinary people. As if this wasn’t Uchiha Itachi standing in front of her, the person who ploughed down his entire clan and left his brother alive as his personal suicide method. 

Fox sat on the bench. “I’m sure that you’ll be able to pass through the Exams without committing treason.” _As if that was reassuring._

Sakura stared at the red eyes, wondering if this was all a really bad, fucked up dream. The Hokage had to be behind this, to put three morally dubious people in one group hoping that they would kill each other. There was no way that this much firepower was needed in one team. Just with Kakashi, Itachi, and Obito, they could murder the Mizukage in broad daylight and escape. Hell, they could probably take on all of Kumo. 

Sakura didn’t respond, and thankfully the two weren’t all too talkative. Soon they walkedto the deepest pit of ANBU- the sparring stadium. 

Sakura really didn’t want to engage with either of them but she knew she had to keep the pretence up. “Fox _,_ who do I need to maim to prove my worth?” She snarked. 

“Everyone here.” He waved at the whole of ANBU standing in the stadium.

Sakura remembered her first ANBU Exams, getting her ass kicked to the ground and the desperation that fuelled her because unlike any other spars that she had gone through before, it had felt like an actual terse battle. Since the format was the same as the Chunin Exams but with a five-minute time limit, Sakura had made a mistake that this would be as easy going. How naive. Back then, she ended up almost at the bottom of the rank but it filled her with immense pride to know that she _wasn’t at_ the bottom. 

Name after name were called and Sakura sank in the chair. The captains were all sitting in a box at the top of the stadium, talking amongst themselves while watching the battle. Some were recognizable and some were not, Sakura could only assume that they had died before she had the opportunity to meet them. 

Out of sheer luck, her first match was against someone she didn’t know. Squirrel was a big, intimidating man with a broad sword strapped to his back. 

It was over in seconds. 

Sakura was especially proud of being mindful to not leave any bruises or permanent injuries. Sure her hits might have been hard but they could’ve been a lot harder. Squirrel obviously didn’t feel the same because he didn’t reach up to finish her Reconciliation Seal. 

The next four matches were also uneventful- she didn’t even need to use any jutsu. Not that it mattered. Sakura’s strength was in taijutsu and hand to hand combat. As she watched other fights, she noticed they would entirely outclass one another, or else be locked in a striking tie.

“Weasel and Bird.” 

Finally, the time came. 

Itachi moved with an elegance that Sakura could only yearn for, dropping down gracefully to the ground. Sakura in turn stood up to meet him. 

Two red eyes stared at her with no hostility, and Sakura understood why. Although they had fought previously, her focus was more on trying to convince Itachi to help. She did plenty of damage to his ex-colleagues in Akatsuki but she had the upper hand of knowing their skills and weakness, making her seem like the type of person who used intellect in her fight. When they took down evil-Obito, she had let Itachi handle most of the fighting, which the man was clearly capable of. 

Sakura’s heart was in her throat, her fingers jittery with excitement. 

As the bell rang, Sakura instantly unsealed her eye, revealing Sasuke’s Sharingan. 

She must’ve been snared under Itachi’s genjutsu already because she felt herself break out of chakra around her, Itachi and seemingly teleporting behind her. She knew Itachi was strong but she also knew his attacks and the Sharingan so intimately. Did Sakura really already fall into genjutsu? 

Sakura’s hands jerked upward, panic running through her systems now. She braced herself and jumped up, paying no heed to how the ground shattered from the force. 

“Whose is that?” Itachi asked. The tomoe in his Sharingan spun fast with his emotion. 

Sakura wasn’t here to talk, she was here to give a show. But something ugly in her twisted as she was reminded that Itachi was the person who brought her teammate so much _pain_ from his misguided idea of justice. 

“I don’t know, maybe your mother’s?” She spat out, her hands running through the seals of a brutal earth jutsu. The block of mud rose up in impressive spikes under Itachi but he remained balanced and rose up with it. 

“I had wondered how you knew about Danzo and his motivation. Never did it occur to me that it was because you were _just like him.”_ Itachi’s voice was fluid without any harshness but Sakura felt the killing intent that poured out of him. 

These five minutes were going to be very, very long she realised.

“Amaterasu.” She said. 

An unholy dark fire erupted out taking her chakra along with it. It moved as if it had a mind of its own, consuming the barren ground and chasing the now moving Uchiha. Sakura paid no attention to trivial things like making sure the bystanders were safe, assuming that they would be sensible enough to move out of the way. The fire unfurled itself, surging and reaching for the man now running to dodge the tendrils of it gripping. 

Her chakra was draining too fast, and Sakura let the flames dissipate into the ground, sealing the Sharingan. It had been more of a costly intimidation move anyway. 

Too bad the intimidation was _too_ efficient. 

Itachi shut his eyes, and Sakura took that moment to pull her hand back to deliver an uppercut. When her hands were only millimetres away from his, Itachi’s eyes snapped open and this time, there were no swirling tomoe. 

“Shit-” 

But it was too late. 

“Susanoo.” 

The red chakra scalded her forearms and she brought them close to her chest. Sakura didn’t have any time to twist to cushion her landing as she was thrown into the metal pipes on the far wall by the emergence of the samurai from thin air. 

Her back cracked against the metal and Sakura let out a choked gasp, trying to blink the pain away. _Shit that hurt_. 

In front of her, the red avatar was standing behind Itachi, its yellow eyes peering at her. From Itachi’s eyes trailed a solitary tear of red. The armour was in its basic skeletal form, not the full oppressive figure that Sakura was used to. But that didn’t mean jack because Sakura was fucked now. 

It raised its flaming sword, probably a good five times bigger than her. She felt the tendrils of chakra brush past as she _threw_ herself off the metal pipes and onto the floor. The whole place was filled with an overwhelming _boom_ as it went through the pipe. 

Earth was her element and Sakura managed to sink to the floor with a last-second Earth Release. When she broke the crust to come back out on the edge of the arena, the sword was already on top of her, coming down with a deathly strike. Itachi had sensed her chakra and waited for her to come up. 

The sword was going too fast to dodge and Sakura knew she had only one choice. 

She mustered as much chakra as she could gather in her arm without burning her coils with a grimace. With a defiant cry, she raised her fist to meet the sword. 

It was exactly as excruciating she had imagined as the sword slowly sank itself between her knuckles, palm, and halfway down her ulna. There was no blood spray as the red flames licked her flesh, cauterising the wound as it moved. The sword was tearing through her arm, slow but with enough force to make it through. 

Her mouth contorted with a cry of pain, but a bitter smile took its place as the killing intent that surrounded her faltered just a little at the sight. _Pacifist brother, Sasuke? What a load of lies._

Using her radius and ulna to deflect, she managed to change the directory of the weapon by sliding it across far enough so it wouldn’t go through her. 

The bell rang again, signalling the end of the spar. A faint _Winner: Weasel_ rang in the background. 

“Fucking hell, Weasel. I thought you were thankful, not spiteful.” She spat out gasping, enveloping her arm in the green glow. Her vision was spotty with all the blood loss and the way she had hit the metal pipes before. Part of her wanted to snap at him with words like _are you trying to kill me?_ but she knew that he wasn’t. Sakura saw how Itachi fought Obito. 

Now that the fog of the battle was out of her brain and without the incredible pain that was obscuring her thoughts, she could hear how furious whispers broke out in the stadium. No doubt that people now realised that this was Itachi Uchiha, the traitor, who was standing in front of them. 

Sakura limped back to her chair, still trying to piece her arm together. Obito walked past her to do his round. 

Weasel, very unharmed, sat next to her. 

“I am very thankful for what you’ve done. But I am curious? Who did you get the Sharingan from?” 

Sakura kicked his leg with no real force behind it and probably since Itachi had sliced through her arm, he let her. “Shut up and let me concentrate.” She hissed. Honestly, shinobi had no respect for the amount of focus it took to conduct medical jutsu. 

There were only a quarter of her reserves left when she finished healing her cracked rib. Itachi was still staring at her intensely and Sakura let out a sigh. “Where do you think? I said I had a friend who told me the stuff about Konoha.” 

“This friend… knew my situation.” 

Sakura stared at him, not sure where he was getting at. “Yes.” 

“I thought _his_ eyes were destroyed,” Itachi said slowly as if he couldn’t believe the very words coming out of his mouth. 

_Oh._

And now Sakura understood why he had escalated so quickly to a Susanoo and why the usually calm Itachi got a little riled up. _He thinks this eye was Shisui’s._ Although she barely had any interactions with him, she had heard Sasuke’s reports to know that Shisui was the reason Itachi’s Mangekyo unlocked. 

Sakura was planning to keep quiet about the source of the eye, but Itachi’s excuse did sound like a very plausible way to explain her situation. It would explain how she knew about Root, ANBU, and the progress of the Sharingan. 

“Well, it wasn’t,” Sakura replied curtly. 

Then, Itachi’s eyes _glowed_ red with pain, anger, grief and she bolted away from him knowing in her gut what was about to come next. Itachi’s hands moved to form a simple sign before Sakura could unseal her Sharingan with her shaky hands in attempts to counter the jutsu. Her world was melting away in monochrome red- _shit was this how she was going to die?_

Then a hand slapped over Itachi’s eyes. “Weasel, act your age, not your shoe size.” An exasperated voice called out, already back from his fight. 

Her heart was still lurking inside her stomach, diaphragm spasming from the sudden and cruel grasp of death that almost snatched her away. That little _fucker_ was going to put her in a Tsukuyomi after all she had done for him. She cursed Sasuke once again for telling her that her brother was a ‘pacifist with an easiness in his temperament.’ 

She would’ve kissed the person who stopped Itachi if it wasn’t for the fact that the said person had killed Neji. 

“Thanks, Fox. Also, can you make sure your cousin doesn’t try to kill me? He invoked _Susanoo_ in a friendly _spar._ Then tried to Tsukuyomi me. _”_ Sakura complained. 

Itachi was perfectly still and ignored her words. “Her source is not Shisui.” 

_Well, that lie was uncovered quickly._ Sakura dropped all pretences. “Yeah no shit, but how did you know?” 

Now Obito was also looking at her with gleaming red eyes. 

“Shisui didn’t have Amaterasu.” Itachi paused. “Amaterasu runs in our _family_ only.” 

And how the _fuck_ was Sakura meant to know that? This dojutsu business was an absolute mess with some having different weaknesses and different abilities but then all having the same levels. Since Sasuke and Itachi had used it, she had just assumed every Mangekyo Sharingan had this power, but apparently, that was a very false assumption. 

Well, now her choice was to say the eye was… Sasuke’s father? She tried to remember what Sasuke had told her about him, except that lovable teammate of hers had the tendency to get busy lost on the road of life, and living as a missing-nin with no ramblings about his upbringing. So she opted for a shrug. “Well, there aren’t too many guesses and I’m sure one of them is correct.” 

To her surprise that was exactly what needed to be said because a glance between Obito and Itachi, and the matter was dropped. _This_ was what she was counting on. The lack of communication between the Uchihas and how they always _assumed_ out of the simplest knowledge. 

Her back prickled as now everyone was overtly peering at them. After all, there were now _three_ Sharingan users in front of them where the Uchihas were supposed to be wiped out. Or was it the fact that they had carelessly thrown about S-rank jutsus in their fights? Either way, it was getting embarrassing. 

Thankfully, there was only one match left. One that Sakura knew was coming from the start. 

“Weasel and Fox. Come out _now.”_ The ANBU growled, and Sakura realised that they had been ignoring the call for the past few seconds. 

The two men dutifully did their best at the fight, but it was clear that neither of them really cared. Compared to the power that Itachi showed before, this was almost a warm-up. They were incredibly fast with ninjutsu, dangerously hurling over each other, but there was no finesse. The details, like when one hides a bunshin as a shuriken for the upper hand, or a subtle skip in the hand signs to confuse the opponent of a jutsu, was not there. Neither of them used their Sharingan except to track the movements in taijutsu. 

The five minutes passed and it was declared a draw. Buzzkill. 

A hushed silence fell through the crowd as they all looked up to box at the captains. 

Each captain called out the members of their group. The whole Exams was a farce anyway, everyone already knew exactly _who_ was going to be in whose group as each of the squad had a specialisation. She knew from her time as ANBU, the captains didn’t even discuss the choices with each other- that was how blatantly obvious it was. 

This was the first time, as far as she knew, that the lack of discussion led to trouble. “Team Fu: Bear, Horse, Bird.” A cold female voice said. 

Sakura fought very hard to keep her gaze checked and not burst into a happy dance. _Thank god_ she wasn’t getting assigned to the suicide team because she was sure they were going to kill everyone or kill each other. Or both. 

“No. Bird is mine.” 

And her dreams were crushed. Kakashi placed his feet on the table and crossed his arms, a clear aura of _try me_ in his nonchalant pose. 

The female captain's voice remained the same as she spoke again. “Team Fu: Bear, Horse, Mouse.” 

This was her chance, and she was going to take it. “This is a democratic process, no? Do I get to have a say?” 

The temperature in the room dropped and the air became thick with Kakashi’s killing intent all sharply pointing at her. It felt like a dagger, daring her to speak even a sentence more. 

“Oh?” The simple word was drawn out like a death sentence. 

Sakura straightened up. “Yes. My speciality lies in Medical Jutsu. It seems almost _idiotic,”_ she made sure to enunciate the syllable as much as possible. “Not to place me in Team Fu.” 

She felt terribly calm as Kakashi’s anger rolled over her in tides.

“Speciality in Medical Jutsu, you say?” 

And then Kakashi was jumping towards her, his hands flickering in the _goddamn_ blue orb. The air crackled with electricity, the hair on her skin rising up involuntarily. 

A breath in and she saw red. Her lips formed themselves into a snarl as she forgot everything around her, the instinctive fight or flight overriding like molten lava sinking through the stone calm in her veins. Her ears roared in the rush of blood and the creaking sound of the jutsu fuelled her with bloodthirst. 

_Eliminate the threat._ Her mind screamed at her. With rapid seal signs, Sakura pushed layers of genjutsu to him, knowing that it would cost him precious seconds to break it. She shuushined behind him and threw up an Earth Clone right to his face. Kakashi’s hand whipped around with deadly accuracy as it jabbed through her fake, making it disappear in thin air. 

No damage, but that was enough. She reached out to grab his wrist, applying chakra to her hands to _crush those bones to dust and make it rain red_ but quickly had to let go as wisps of smoke escaped Kakashi’s mouth, a telltale sign of fireball jutsu. An awkward twist of her back was enough to dodge it, but not enough to avoid the kick to her stomach. 

His knee rammed into her ribs and she heard it crunch as it broke, _she just healed that goddamnit!_ But Sakura didn’t falter. A fleet of kunai was already at her palms and she threw it toward him, straight at his neck. Unfortunately, the Sharingan blazed alive and the copy nin maneuvered himself between them, allowing them to be embed in the wall behind him. 

The force of them sinking on the wall made the henge break revealing there to be explosive tags behind Kakashi’s back. A lesser ninja would have fallen for it, but this man had some uncanny sixth sense and he dropped down to the earth, using the Earth Release that she had used before. 

Suddenly, she was thrown back to her second bell test where Kakashi-sensei had used that exact move and it offended her that _this man_ was doing something that _her sensei_ did. Rage filled her vision as she went through the well practice pattern and smashed the ground. 

“Hiding, Commander?” She called out mockingly. 

From the point where her fists hit, the stone began to crack away, groaning almost in protest. Sakura smiled watching the ground upturn revealing the silver haired man. She let herself be thrown back by her own force, making sure to secure distance. 

Kakashi’s hand ran through a very familiar set of seals in rapid succession and Sakura knew _exactly_ how to counter. She reached down to touch the ground to raise the mud up in a wall to block the incoming attack, noting that her reserves were now running low. 

She frowned. _Why was it depleted?_ Because she fought Itachi. Because this was an ANBU Exams where she was _supposed_ to be showing that her specialty didn’t lie anywhere else. Now she was doing exactly the opposite and showing her proficiency in everything else. 

So instead of channeling her energy, Sakura raised her fingers up. She pretended to fumble getting out a kunai, feigning pain from her ribs. 

Kakashi’s seals were almost complete and the water dragon was now opening its mouth to devour her- 

Sakura raised her two arms, palm opened, dropping everything in her hand. The kunai clattered to the ground as they hit; a universal sign of yield. 

The water dragon splashed onto the floor, form dissipating in an impressive wave. It’s force rocked her ankles and seeped in with its cold. 

“ _Hiding,_ Bird?” 

“I yield under your superior skills, Commander. I’m just not that good at combat.” Sakura said. Her eyes crinkled from the smile and she knew everyone could see it. Her mouth tasted metallic, but she knew that the victory was hers. 

The mismatched eyes regarded her with _fury,_ promises of disembowelment clear. 

Sakura looked at the female captain. “I’m much better at healing. See?” Sakura used her hand to heal the broken rib, showing the bruises disappearing in seconds. 

The female captain stood still. Sakura didn’t blame her. She also wouldn’t want to defy Kakashi if she was in her position. 

She had driven the man into a corner, the whole of ANBU was watching this exchange. It looked very unfair for him to assign her into his squad, a frontier, since she didn’t even last two minutes against him. 

A heavy hand landed on her shoulder and Sakura snapped her head back to see _Obito_ behind her. 

“Maa, it seems like she needs her help developing her Sharingan. I’ll be _happy_ to be her mentor as a proficient Sharingan user. I’m sure that I can cover her… deficiency in combat and she’ll serve well as a medic-nin with me.” 

Sakura _seethed._ “I don’t need your help-”

“What a kind offer. Team Ro: Weasel, Fox, and Bird. Dismissed.” 

“- or your meddling!” she spitted out, voice laced with venom. 

Her voice echoed in the now empty arena. Only one man was standing and everyone else had shunshinned away. _Cowards._

Kakashi approached her slowly and Sakura didn’t move. She met his eyes with reciprocating steel. 

His hands, quick as a flash, reached out to grab her neck. Sakura didn’t resist, letting the man. 

Then, _that damn sound._

The sound of electricity and the chirping of a thousand birds. Sakura violently shook, her heart racing in response. She raised her hands up to twist away. She would smash that mask into his face until it was a part of him. Her fists would then shatter his brain, and she would watch in _glee_ as the liquid spills out from - 

“Stop.” 

And Sakura stilled while her head _screamed at her_ to kill the threat. She stopped because even after _everything,_ she recognized that authoritative chakra as her commander. Through and through, Sakura was a loyal ninja and listening to her superior was always a matter of death in the battlefield. Her subconscious trusted his competence without an ounce of doubt. 

Kakashi’s lazy eyes bored into her. A quick gesture, and Sakura’s mask was now off her face revealing her twisted helpless expression. 

“This,” Kakashi pulled her forwards until she could feel his breath on her even through his mask. His body radiated heat on her but it sent chills down her spine. “Is why you are on my team.” 

And then he was gone. 

***

Sakura tried not to scowl at the face that appeared before her, afterall she was the one who knocked. 

“Hanari-san.” 

Sakura ignored the surprised voice and made her way into the compound. It was cleaner than she thought it would be, having two adults instead of just a 9-year-old with no domestic skills probably helped.

“Trust me, I don’t want to be here so let’s skip the pleasantries and strip.” 

Itachi looked back at her blankly. 

“Does Obito know about your debilitating lung disease that is slowly but surely killing you?” 

And the mighty Uchiha flinched. His eyes widened in surprise as the mouth failed to form proper words. His jaw clicked shut, deciding to stay silent. 

“I’m here to fix it, so take your shirt off,” Sakura said gruffly. 

Itachi led her to the house. Sakura noted that this was indeed the house that his parents were slaughtered in. The blood may have been gone but she remembered how Sasuke avoided this place like the plague. The blood was gone but she remembered how Sasuke avoided this place like the plague. 

Sitting in the living room, Itachi slowly took his shirt off and Sakura wasted no time pushing her chakra and casting a diagnostic jutsu. 

_This is...doable._ She thought to herself. Maybe it would be impossible in a few years but right now, she could fix this. She could give Itachi to Sasuke, the brother that he had yearned for with every inch of his being.

She looked at Itachi and realised the man in front of her looked tired. It probably helped that the man she recognized wasn’t much of a man at all, he couldn’t have been older than her. In fact, she would guess he was younger. The commanding charisma that he had with every movement was there, but it wasn’t as terrifying as it was before. He didn’t scream deadly missing nin as he had before. He just looked like he needed a long nap

Sakura sighed. These damn Uchihas somehow managed to hit her soft spot. 

“The best course of action would be to replace these lungs. Thankfully, you have a brother who would be a _great match._ But since I know he’s a brat, I think Obito would be fine since he’s not too many steps away from your line.”

The words out of Itachi’s mouth were not what she expected. “Obito thinks that the eye is my father’s.” 

Sakura dispelled the jutsu and leaned back on the couch. Half her mind wanted to leave but she was already snared. She already saw herself in Itachi, the wearily bone tiredness that emitted from him matched her. 

“And you?” 

“They are Sasuke’s.” The way he phrased it, it was clear that Itachi already knew. Of course, Itachi knew, this was a man who planned years of misery for Sasuke so he could gain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in his masterplan to save everyone. 

“They were given _willingly_.” There was no point denying it. 

Itachi gave her a long look and Sakura knew the grief was already evident on her face. The memory of Sasuke taking his eye out and placing it in her first was seared into her mind, the sound of sharpened kunai brushing past them but Sakura could hardly hear because her _best friend_ was there, lying on the ground.

A comfortable silence fell between them as Sakura passed numbing chakra in him. 

“There’s only one left.” 

Sakura nodded. “Danzo.” 

“I could go right now,” Itachi said. He said it so calmly and serenely as if he wasn’t offering to kill. 

She hummed. “You could.” 

Then, all the tension in Itachi’s shoulders left and he sagged like a puppet with the string cut from its head. “Cutting off a rotten root doesn’t ensure structure.” 

She waited, knowing that Itachi would come to the conclusion that she wanted. The breathing under her sounded clearer now, the air rushing through the lungs as it should. This was only a temporary fix though, it only would delay the inevitable unless he got a transplant. 

“You want me to _be_ the root.” 

“The Leader of the Konoha Police Force, Itachi Uchiha, has a nice ring to it.” 

“You already planned this.” The voice wasn’t accusatory, just resigned. “This is what Sasuke wanted?” 

Sakura’s chakra faltered at the mention of _her_ Sasuke. The fact that someone acknowledged him, that it wasn’t just a ghost of the past living in her head felt… She felt like Itachi had stolen a piece of her that was kept under layers and layers of love and protection. Itachi was asking what _her_ Sasuke wanted, as if he could ever grovel enough for the pain he caused. Itachi was asking what Sasuke wanted now, as if he didn’t make Sasuke walk down the path which he paved with Sasuke’s sanity. 

Her lips felt cold. “Don’t pretend you care.” 

This time, the silence was deafening. 

“You must think very low of me, Sakura-san.” 

His lips left her name and Sakura gritted her teeth. Yes, it was entirely possible to deduce who she was since he now saw Sasuke’s fellow academy mates. It wasn’t too hard to guess who his teammate would be, and with her brazen pink hair, it was easy. 

Sakura briefly contemplated shoving his body with turbulent chakra. He would be dead in a week with only lung disease showing up as a symptom. The Uchiha wouldn’t tell even with his dying breath, he would’ve taken the secret to the grave if not for her. Her fingers twitched in anticipation. 

“I only wish the best for my brother.” 

And Sakura’s fingers fell away, the jutsu fading green. She couldn’t kill Itachi, perhaps not ever. 

“Tell me, how did Sasuke grow up?” 

Before she could help herself, Sakura was already spilling tales of her teammate. She ushered praises of the brave man he had become, the tendencies to crave tomatoes, his antisocial behaviour that drove her to the wall sometimes, and how he loved Itachi even after everything. She recounted the dread she felt as Sasuke walked away from her with a mumbled thank you. Sakura didn’t miss a single detail describing how Sasuke had defeated Orochimaru.

And Itachi was ready for her, drinking her words up with a twinkle in his eyes. He _listened,_ not uttering a single word yet hanging off of her every sentence. 

Sakura only realised that her face was covered in tears when Itachi slowly reached to brush them away. 

But Sakura smiled because damned if she was going to let tears stop her from boasting about her Sasuke. 

The high sun was now setting, casting a golden glow in the room. Loud footsteps resonated through the wooden floor and the door slammed open. 

“You.” 

Sakura was glad that Itachi now had his shirt up and they were sitting down across each other having tea like normal people in the living room. “Hello, little terror.” 

Sasuke’s face morphed into an ugly sneer. “What are you doing here in my house?” His hands were already reaching to his kunai pouch. 

“Slow down, Sasuke.” And Obito was behind him, picking him up as if Sasuke was light as a feather. It must’ve been a common occurrence because the raven-haired boy didn’t even resist. “Hanari-san. Joining for dinner? It’s takeout.” 

“Of course.” 

“You can’t let that _woman_ join us!” Sasuke bristled at the very notion. It was cute how Sasuke used to get all riled up. 

Sakura raised her eyebrow at him. “Perhaps you can try to poison my food.” 

The black eyes filled with hatred stared at her for a second but he left muttering excuses about putting his bag away. 

“Came for pointers about the Sharingan?”

She scoffed, refusing to rise to the jab. “Of course, Obito- _senpai._ I await your great teachings.” 

Obito let out a laugh, surprisingly genuine while unpacking. “You don’t seem to like Bakashi so much.” 

That damn man picked the exact moment she started drinking tea to drop that bomb shell because Sakura choked on the beverage, letting out an unladylike snort. _Bakashi_? Itachi and Obito shared a look before Sakura composed herself and responded. “He did try to kill me at every turn.” 

“You don’t seem to mind me and I definitely tried my very best to kill you.” Obito replied. 

Sakura struggled to find the words. Her hatred wasn’t just because he tried to kill her. It was more complex than that, he was a stranger with Sensei’s face. “You didn’t try to power trip me like an asshole.” 

“Yes, unfortunately, he had a stick up there the moment I met him.” 

The conversation ended when Sasuke joined, sulking and refusing to look in her direction. Sakura just gave him a sunny smile and dug into her udon with a quick _itadakimasu._

“Are you a jonin?” 

“Probably. I’ll go ask tomorrow.” 

“How can you _not know?_ Are you dumb?” 

“Sasuke.” Itachi chided. But even he knew it was a lost cause. 

“My brother would win against you.” 

Sakura paused, slurping the noodle. “Oh don’t worry, I know. He almost killed me twice yesterday.” 

Sasuke stared at Itachi, eyes wide. “Why didn’t you?” 

“Sasuke, do you want the tuna sushi?” Itachi asked instead. 

Obito was trying desperately to hide his laughter behind his chopsticks but failing as his shoulders shook. 

“I’m taking it but you have to answer.” 

Itachi gave a serene smile. “Hanari-san is a member of Konoha, Sasuke. I wouldn’t dream of harming her.” 

Now, Obito was audibly laughing. 

“Of course, I know my life is safe with Itachi-senpai.” 

Sasuke’s nose scrunched up. He skidded back his chair and angrily sauntered away, presumably his room. 

Finally, Obito managed to stop his assault of laughter. “Children,” he exclaimed. 

Sakura agreed. In her mind, mini-Sasuke was a quiet teen, not this loud mouthed annoyance. Turned out having a family did wonders to his mood. Or maybe it was her childhood blindness that ignored this part of Sasuke and crafted him into the cool guy. 

“Kakashi’s going to pester me until he gets whatever he wants.” Sakura realised midway through a katsu. 

“That’s Kakahshi’s most admirable trait. Don’t worry, as long as what he wants isn’t your head on a platter, you’re going to be fine.” 

She gave Obito a flat look. “It _is_ my head on a platter.” 

The Uchiha had the galls to look sheepish. “Well, better change his mind.” 

***

The opportunity to change his mind didn’t occur for several days; they both avoided each other like a plague. Avoidance went a long way if it was reciprocated and Sakura was now having fledings of hope that maybe this would go on forever. An ANBU mission would arise inevitably but until then, she could enjoy the peace. 

But when she went for dinner at the Uchiha’s - yes that was a thing now- the silver hair man was sitting at the dinner table. 

Sakura pivoted on her heels. “Sorry, I forgot that I had dinner plans.” 

Before she could bolt out of the door, Obito was already in front of her. “Hanari-san, he’s here about _Danzo.”_

Great, this was just peachy. “And how is the captain going to help us?” 

“I was in Root.” 

That was a surprise. Sakura would’ve never guessed that the lazy porn reading sensei was once Root. But this Kakashi, she could see it. “Okay.” Sakura conceded. She sat on the chair, ready to hear them out. 

She never doubted for a second that the plan was going to be bad, the three people in front of her were arguably the best strategist in the whole hidden nations. They definitely didn’t need her help.

Sakura nodded along as they unraveled the plans of the Police Force; Danzo wasn’t her enemy anyway, she wouldn’t mind if he died in a ditch or in a murder. If they wanted to cut the head of the snake, so be it. The Police Force replacing Root was based on astute observations, a Hidden Village always needed an entity to do its dirty work. Her vested interest was singular. 

“The boy I brought to T&I. Anything from him?” 

“No, he’s dead.” 

Her heart skipped a beat. Sai? Sai. _Sai_ dead? That was impossible, she was so sure to put the genjutsu full force to help him recover. Ibiki-senpai surely would’ve seen it, he was an expert on human emotion and manipulation. He knew how to break and build people up. Sai couldn’t be dead, she was here to bring him back to life not in a coffin. 

“So you kept him alive on purpose.” Kakashi drawled lazily, taking in her reaction. “He’s still alive.” He added carelessly like a second thought. 

She knew Kakashi had seen the pure look of terror that passed her. Masking it would’ve been smart but how could she when in her mind, Sai’s dead body was calling her, feverishly promising her that it was okay. _I read that a teammate’s death might be detrimental to one’s health. Please take care._ The words spoken with so much Sai-ness. 

Sakura stood up. She was going to break his fingers one by one until they were only shards. His ribs were going to be snapped with her bare hands while stabbing his Sharingan with a kunai. _How dare he lie about this?_

“Bakashi, play nice.” Obito smiled apologetically to her. _A massive stick_ he mouthed. 

Itachi pulled her back down to the chair gently. She was getting reassured by mass murderers. And it was oddly working.

Kakashi’s face was hidden under his mask, but Sakura could tell it was twisted in a cold smirk. She had fallen for it, as easily as taking candy from a baby. It occurred to her that the only reason she was privy to this discussion was to see her reaction. The plan which Itachi explained so delicately was between the three of them, not including Sakura. 

For all the tentative bonding that she and the Uchihas were having, they were still weary about her. The wayward glances at her words, poignant questions aimed to dig up information. 

Sakura then was going to make his head spin in an attempt to figure this out. “Yes, I left _Sai_ alive for a reason.” 

It went past no one that she knew the name of the operative. It also went past no one that she was not going to answer any questions pertaining to it. 

The air felt heavy. 

“How could we have a team when one refuses to share.” He spoke like he truly cared _._

Ah yes, ANBU teams. That is what normal ANBU teams did. But normal ANBU teams didn’t meet with their masks down. A _team_ was an entity formed to cover each other’s weakness, helping each other to reach higher. It was the opposite of whatever this was. 

“You’re the only one who didn’t attend our bonding session, _taicho.”_ The last word was spat out leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. It reminded her of the previous defeat where she had crumbled against him. In that short interaction, the man already exploited her survival instincts. 

Obito stepped in with a particular look at the infallible cold asshole. Kakashi _froze._ His mask wasn’t enough to hide the clench of his teeth underneath as the muscle flexed along the black cotton. “Stop Bakashi. We wouldn’t want this team to end up like _our team.”_ He added softly.

That must’ve been a killing blow because Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves with a spiteful red eye. 

_Holy shit he just countered Kakashi with words._

She was starting to see that maybe the two men in front of her weren’t just villains but very, very complex people with their histories entwined with those she loved. Kakashi-sensei had told her that Obito was his teammate and that’s where he got his eye but he never had shown an inkling of this _rawness_ that was here now. 

Then this _team_ made a lot more sense. 

“You’re here to keep Kakashi in check.” Sakura said flatly. 

Before Obito could respond, Itachi interrupted. “And Kakashi-senpai is here to watch over you.” He elaborated. “I’m here to ensure my cousin’s loyalty.” 

This… was a brilliant circle jerk. No wonder the team needed so much firepower, they were there to destroy each other. This pretense of a team was only a kennel of feral animals all leashed against each other- never making out and too busy attacking each other. 

“My role is to watch over you two, isn’t it” Sakura mused out loud. “And the Third thinks that _I_ would be able to watch over you two?” 

The chair creaked as Obito leaned back. “For all your strengths, you sure are slow.”

Ah, she realised. Obito was insinuating that she didn’t actually have to watch over them. She knew the biggest weakness that they had- Sasuke. They all thought she wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. 

“Perhaps this is the day where Sasuke succeeds in killing me and you two will get your leashes lifted, hmm?” Sakura said light-heartedly. 

“I have tried to have Sasuke kill me, but it has failed for me. Perhaps it will work this time around.” Itachi said, a small smile tugging at his face. 

Sakura matched his wry smile. “Perhaps.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a Tumblr! I'll be posting related spinoffs/explanations to the story.  
> My Inbox is always open for any requests and plot ideas! 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/theia-talks  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/theia-talks
> 
> ~Some explanations~  
> In case anyone thinks Sakura is too strong, keep in mind that Itachi can kill her in a blink of an eye if he really wants. (we all know he's the real gary-sue). 
> 
> Itachi was mad at the beginning because he thought the eyes were Shisui's. He was really coming with intent to kill so he could retrieve the eyes while making it seem like a 'sparring accident'. As we know, Shiui's eyes are sprinkled with some fairy magical dust, thus super-duper important. 
> 
> The line “I had wondered how you knew about Danzo and his motivation. Never did it occur to me that it was because you were just like him.” is implying Itachi considered Sakura is just like Danzo, stealing Shisui's eyes.
> 
> I'm not sure how much of that came across since I had to write it from Sakura's perspective. It's only after Sakura used Amaterasu that he realises it's not Shisui's, hence not killing her outright. After copious googling, turns out Amaterasu is something that only Itachi and Sasuke has, and it's not clear that Fugaku has it. I used some ~canon twisting~ to make it into a family trait. 
> 
> The reason why Itachi half trusted Sakura is that he thought her information source is Shisui. After finding that it wasn't, he was going to put her under a Tsukuyomi to interrogate her. The only reason he didn't continue is that Obito stopped him. After thinking, Itachi comes to the conclusion that it must be Sasuke's (amaterasu being a big hint + sasuke's academy mate having pink hair + sakura seems to know a lot of things)
> 
> I hope that cleared up some of the stuff in this chapter!  
> Thank you for everyone reading and leaving comments/kudos! I appreciate all of you :)


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